Foreigners in Jing’an丨GM of The Portman Ritz-Carlton, Shanghai: Jing'an will become a hub of culture, commerce and tourism of Shanghai

By:Wu Qiong | From:english.eastday.com | 2017-11-07 11:04

【Starting from the year of 2017, the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, together with district governments, has started hosting the "Internationalized Shanghai Promotion Series" to demonstrate the achievements and future planning of each district and enhance the exchanges and cooperation between Shanghai and the world, so as to helpShanghai become a global city of excellence. After the first event series was held in Yangpu inthe first half year, the second event series, with the theme of “Internationalized Shanghai: Charming New Jing'an, New Development Engine,” took place in Jing’an District—the heart of Shanghai. Eastday.cominterviewed some expats living and working in Jing’an, who talked about what they think of the new district, especially after its merger with Zhabei District.】

Tarik Temuçin has an interview with Eastday.com in Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (SPAFFC).

图片说明：塔里克•铁穆青在上海市友协接受采访

Located on West Nanjing Road in Jing'an District, The Portman Ritz-Carlton, Shanghai, as theonly platinum five-star hotel in the city thanks to its positioning and quality service, has attracted many tourists from China and overseas. With profound expertise in hotel management, Tarik Temuçin came to Shanghai in 2016, to take charge of the hotel as its general manager.

Wearing a confident smile and a pair of stylish glasses, Tarik Temuçin in a clean suit reminds people of his hometown—the beautiful and romantic Turkey.

一身干练利落的西装，一副优雅时尚的眼镜，一脸自信从容的微笑，坐在记者面前的塔里克不禁让人联想起他的家乡——浪漫而美好的神秘国度土耳其。

"Many people say that my Chinese surname Tiemuqing is special. It was given by my assistant in Sanya." Tarik has been living in China for almost 7 years. Before coming to Shanghai, he worked in Sanya and Beijing. But his connection with China is more than this."In Turkish,'çin' in my surname means China,"said Tarik.

Tarik's family lives on West Nanjing Road, the busiest and most prosperous place in Jing'an. In his spare time, he likes to walk along the lanes and streets nearby, together with his wife and daughters. What impresses himmost is not the modern buildings or skyscrapers, but the strong local culture and dynamic life in Jing'an, even in the bustling Jing'an Temple area. There are a lot of activities for kids and the elderly to get involved. He told the reporter,"In Jing'an, you can explore the local culture. There are a lot of places of shopping and traveling. It is also an international district. The combination is what makes Jing'an so unique." What's more, he also thinks that the local people are kind and helpful, bringing much fun to the life of his family.

Zhabei and Jing'an districts were merged last year. Speaking of the new Jing'an, Tarik said that it not only becomes bigger in size, but also demonstrates the strong development of the city, and will continue to attract more enterprises and funding."With this, we can expect more industrial parks, new communities, a dynamic business environment as well as tourist attractions." While developing culture and entertainment, the government encourages more enterprises to come to the new Jing'an, which will help both areas develop better in the future. He believes that in a few years, Jing'an will become a hub ofculture, commerce and tourism of Shanghai. Take thehospitality industry for example. Within one year, there will be two more hotels to settle in Jing'an. But what's the most important is that Jing'an has done very well in combining modernity and cultural preservation.

How can Jing'an become a magnet to attract more international talent on its way to becoming more internationalized? Tarik gave someconstructive advice,“Firstly, enterprises can consider providing more education and training opportunities for their staff. They may also reconsider the conditions of the staff dormitory, especially to reduce the young employees' economic burden. From the perspective of enterprises, I'm looking forward to a more simplified process to improve the efficiencyof applications. Lastly, the government may consider offering an international school to the foreign families in the district, as a way to keep more international talent to work and live here.”